


Is There Still Time, or Is It Too Late

by idra



Series: The Method of Human Communication [3]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Getting Together, Little bit of Fluff, Little bit of angst, M/M, Not Avengers: Age of Ultron (Movie) Compliant, Not Captain America: Civil War (Movie) Compliant
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-04-01
Updated: 2017-04-01
Packaged: 2018-10-13 17:25:30
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,940
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10518399
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/idra/pseuds/idra
Summary: Tony and Steve are dealing with the ramifications of bring Bucky back to the Tower and some people show up to help them out.





	

Steve steps out of the room as Bucky swears in German at him and throws a chair across the room. He glances up, surprised to see Tony standing there. “Tony,” he says, a little breathlessly. It’s not just that he’s out of breath from fighting Bucky. He can admit that to himself. He probably will never say it out loud, but Tony has this strange ability to make him breathless. Especially in the weeks since they’ve brought Bucky home. 

“He’s having a bad day?” 

“You could say that. I’m still not sure what I said. He just started screaming at me in German. I didn’t even know he knew German.” 

“Well, they had him before the Russians did.” Tony pats Steve’s arm. “I’m gonna go in, okay?” 

“Tony, I don’t think you should.” 

“I’ll be fine. He hasn’t tried to hurt me yet, has he?” Tony smiles and slides through the door behind Steve. Steve turns to follow, but the door is shut in his face and he hears the ‘snick’ of the lock being locked. 

“JARVIS, can you show me a feed from in there?” 

“On the monitor on the wall behind you, Captain.” 

Steve turns and watches as Tony approaches Bucky. “Sound, Jarvis?” 

“Of course, Captain.”

Steve tilts his head as he watches his two best friends and listens in on their conversation.

“Hey Buck. How’s it going?” 

Bucky growls and watches Tony, chest rising and falling quickly. 

“Not in a talkative mood. I get that.” Tony tilts his head and begins speaking in German and Bucky sinks down onto the floor. Tony keeps babbling in German, until Bucky looks up through his hair. “He’s fine, Bucky. He’s fine. A little upset, but he’s doing okay.” 

“I didn’t... I’m sorry. I told you, I shouldn’t be here.”

“What are you talking about? You didn’t hurt Steve. Maybe hurt his feelings a little, but he’s physically fine.”

Bucky snorts a little. “I could’ve though. Also, I destroyed the furniture in here.”

“I can buy new furniture. Besides, I put the cheap shit in here on purpose.”

Bucky laughs and shakes his head. “How’d you know how to speak German?” 

“I have an ear for languages. I can speak several.” Tony shrugs. “Anyhow, are you okay to have Steve back in here?” 

Bucky nods, licking his lips. “Shit. Stevie, get your ass in here, you punk.” 

“Whatever, jerk,” Steve says as Tony lets him into the room. He stays by Tony’s side. “You feeling okay now?”

“Yeah. I’m sorry, Stevie.” 

“Don’t be. Not your fault. ‘Sides, you never really tried to hurt me. You just wanted me to go away.”

Bucky nods, eyes glistening. “Still, I’m sorry. You two should go get dinner or something. Shit, I’m probably taking you two away from your dates and shit.” 

Steve blushes a little. “Buck, we’re not...”

“It’s okay, Stevie. It’s allowed now. I won’t think less of you.” 

“I think he means that we’re not a couple. Just friends,” Tony says and Steve glances at him, one eyebrow raised. It almost sounded like Tony regrets saying that. He couldn’t possibly want to be with Steve the way Steve wants to be with him, could he? Tony smiles and shrugs. “Why don’t you two go grab food? I’ve got to get to my lab. I have a bunch of projects to catch up on.” It’s then Steve realizes he hadn’t been hearing regret in Tony’s voice, more like amusement that anyone would think he’d lower himself to date someone like Steve. Steve swallows hard and forces himself to smile.

Bucky grabs Tony’s hand and smiles at him. “Thank you, Tony.” 

“You’re welcome, Bucky.” Tony smiles back and Steve fights back a snarl. He cannot act like a jealous moron. He just can’t. Not when Bucky and Tony are smiling so brightly at each other.

He clears his throat and glances between them. “Actually, I have to head to Shield for a few hours. Tony, can you make sure Bucky eats something? I’d appreciate it.” He turns as quickly as he can and heads for the elevators. He won’t get in the way of the two of them having whatever they’re going to have together. He hits the button for the basement garage and hops on his bike, taking off for Shield. They’ll find something for him to do. They usually have something for him to do, even if it’s simply to test out their equipment to make sure it can handle people with Inhuman strength. And he could use a good workout after watching Tony and Bucky looking at each other that way.

He gets to Shield and heads inside, not even noticing as agents scatter as he strides towards the training facilities. “What have you got for me?” he asks Fury and Hill. “I need to punch something.” 

Hill raises an eyebrow and points to a nearby group of agents. “They’re wearing new body armor. You wanna make sure it holds up to Inhumans?” 

“Yes.” Steve starts over and the agents scatter.

A few hours later, he heads back to the Tower. Once he’s parked his bike, he heads for the elevator. He freezes when he spots Natasha standing inside, arms crossed over her chest. “Hi, Tasha.” He climbs into the elevator and presses the button for his floor.

“What is wrong with you, Steve? You just left. James had a total freak out and only Thor setting Mjölnir stopped him from ripping the armor apart.” At Steve’s shocked look, Natasha nods, pressing the button for the floor they’ve been holding Bucky on and for the communal floor. “Yeah. Tony had to suit up. That’s how bad James got. Because you left.”

“I didn’t... Fuck. I left because they were having a moment and I just couldn’t stay.” 

Natasha reaches over and smacks him upside the head, hard enough that Steve sees stars for a moment. “You are a fucking idiot.” She gets out when the elevator stops on the communal floor. “Go to James, Steve, or else.” 

Steve nods, rubbing at his head. He licks his lips as he gets to Bucky’s floor. He climbs out of the elevator, spotting Bucky laying on the floor, Mjölnir still on his chest. “Thor, you can let him up now.” 

“Nay, Steven. He is still making threats to our Man of Iron and I shall not let harm come to my friends.” 

Steve sighs and looks at Bucky. “What happened, Bucky? Tony had you talked down.” 

Bucky swears at him in German, snarling and struggling under Thor’s hammer. Steve glances over at Bruce who is frowning. “Has he said anything not in German?” 

“Not really. Not since Thor and I got here.” Bruce shrugs. “I need to leave. I don’t know German that well, but I know enough to know the Other Guy doesn’t like what he’s saying. I’d hate to have the Other Guy kill your best friend,” he adds, heading for the elevators.

Steve watches him go, then notices Clint in the corner, arrow nocked and ready to fly. “Hawk, what are you doing?” 

“It’s a sedative. I’m not getting close enough to him to get hurt and I won’t let him hurt Tony again.” 

“He hurt Tony?” Steve looks around. “Where is Tony?” 

“Tony’s up in the penthouse, but Thor and Bruce didn’t want to hurt the Soldier, so they left him there instead of putting him in his cage. I’m going to sedate him, then we can lift Mjölnir and put the Soldier in his cage.” 

Steve frowns at the thought, but nods. “Give me the sedative. I’ll dose him.”

“It’s about what Bruce thought we’d need if we ever needed a sedative for you. It won’t last long-- ten minutes tops-- but it’ll be enough to get him into the cage,” Clint says as he hands Steve the arrow. “Do not let him out of the cage again. Next time, I will not hesitate to put an arrow in him.” 

He then turns on his heel and walks off, opting for the stairway instead of the elevator. Steve closes his eyes for a moment before he walks up to Bucky. “I’m sorry, Bucky. For everything,” he adds as he pushes the tip of the arrow into Bucky’s thigh. Within seconds, Bucky has passed out and Steve gestures for Thor to lift the hammer. Together they carry Bucky into the reinforced steel room and lock the door on their way out. “Thank you, Thor. Thank you for doing what was needed and not what you probably wanted to do to him.” 

“He is not my friend, but he is yours. I would not bring harm to him unless I had no other choice,” Thor says, clasping Steve’s shoulder. “You should check on the Man of Iron. Your friend threw him across the room before I could stop it from happening.”

Steve nods and heads for the elevator, ready to beg Tony’s forgiveness. When he gets to Tony’s floor, he finds Natasha and Clint there, on either side of Tony. He moves into the living area. “Tony? Can I speak with you?” 

Tony looks up, one side of his face black and blue and his eye swollen shut. “Don’t worry, Steve. I won’t kick Bucky out of the tower.” 

“You should,” Clint snaps, turning to glare at Steve. “That murderer shouldn’t be allowed in this building-- he should be locked up!” 

Natasha reaches across Tony and grabs Clint’s hand. “Hush, Clint. It’s Tony’s decision.” 

“I’m sorry for leaving you alone with him. I thought you two were... I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have left.” 

“It’s fine. He’ll wake up, feel bad, apologize and we’ll all move on,” Tony says. “You should go stay with him.” 

“But I’m worried about you,” Steve says. “He’ll probably just wake up and try to kill me.” 

“He should be put down,” Clint says, glaring at Steve still. 

Tony pushes at Clint. “It’s not his fault. He was brainwashed. Bucky needs to get better, not have us wanting to kill him. Stop acting like this is all Bucky’s fault.” 

“No, you’re right. It’s not Bucky’s fault. It’s Steve’s,” Clint snarls, shoving to his feet. “None of this would’ve happened if it weren’t for Steve.” 

“That’s not true and you know it,” Natasha says, frowning at Clint. “Maybe he shouldn’t have run away, but Steve didn’t do this to Bucky.” 

“We never should’ve gotten you out of the ice.” Clint says it as he stares Steve down. 

Steve feels the colour draining from his face as he steps back. “I...”

“Get out, Clint.” Tony gets to his feet, wincing a little. “Get out of my penthouse! And don’t even think about coming back until you’re ready to apologize to Steve.” 

Natasha frowns at Clint and Clint throws his hands up in the air. “This is a fucking joke. If we hadn’t dug Steve out of the fucking ice, Bucky never would’ve bothered with us.” 

“Not true.”

They all turn and face Coulson, Steve wobbling at the sight of the supposedly dead agent of Shield. “What?” 

“The Winter Soldier was being aimed at Tony Stark. Even without Captain Rogers, Tony Stark would’ve been a target. And say what you like, Clint, but not even Iron Man could’ve stood up to the Winter Soldier for long. Even our good Captain could barely out maneuver him.” Coulson walks over, looking Tony’s face over. “Well, Stark. I see you can’t seem to do anything except get into trouble without me.” 

“You’re supposed to be dead.” 

“Funnily enough, you are too.” Coulson smiles at Natasha. “Widow.” 

“Phil,” she returns, smiling back. “About time you showed your face around here again. How’s your new crew?” 

“Not as good as my old one,” he says, looking around at the group. “As I was saying, the Winter Soldier had orders to kill Tony Stark on sight. He was looking for Stark. Then we defrosted Steve and his orders got changed. But he was still under orders to kill Tony if given the chance. It would be for the best if you allowed Shield to take Sergeant Barnes into our custody.” 

“Yeah, lock his ass up,” Clint says. 

“Not to “lock his ass up,” Barton, but to keep an eye on him and to assist him with his reintegration.” Phil turns and focuses his gaze on Clint. “Before you even think what you’re about to think, I suggest you leave. I can and will force the issue, Barton.” 

Clint scowls but stomps over to the elevators and leaves the penthouse. Phil sighs. “Why does he hate Sergeant Barnes so much?”

“I’ll find out,” Natasha says, kissing Phil’s cheek, then Tony’s. She pats Steve’s shoulder as she passes him. 

Steve watches her go, then turns back to Tony and Phil. “When you say assist him with his reintegration?” 

“We have holding facilities for Inhumans. He’ll be kept safe and we have access to a cryofreeze, thanks to Tony.”

“You’ve been building the thing that kept Bucky alive?” 

Tony opens his mouth to object, then sighs. “Yeah. I wasn’t sure we’d find Bucky. I was scared we’d just find the Winter Soldier. I thought if I could build a cryofreeze system, that maybe I could recreate the machine that wiped his mind and we could try to reimplant his original personality. It was just... It was a sort of idea to try to keep Bucky as Bucky.” 

Steve smiles at him. “You were trying to save him. Why? You didn’t even know him. You couldn’t’ve had feelings for him then.”

“Feelings?” Tony scrunches up his nose. “I don’t have feelings for Bucky.” 

“But... You’ve been so willing to help him. You’ve gone out of your way to try to help him. To try to save him.” Steve raises an eyebrow.

“I... Wow. I always thought you were smart.” 

“What?” 

“Oh my God, Steve. It’s you. You’re the one I’ve been helping. You’re the one I’m going out of my way to help. You thought I had feelings... Oh my God. That’s why you ran out like your ass was on fire? Because you think I have feelings for Bucky? You’re an idiot.” 

Steve frowns. “Just because I’m not a genius...” 

“No. You’re an idiot.” Tony takes a step closer to Steve, then another until he’s close enough that he’s just shy of being fully pressed to Steve. “I’m in love with you, you gigantic moronic idiot.” 

Steve’s face flushes and he licks his lips. “You...” He smiles, almost shyly before he leans in, kissing Tony softly.

Tony pulls back, licking at his lips. “No kisses. Not until you admit that you were jealous of Bucky.” 

“I was jealous of how you looked at him. I was jealous of the fact that he looked at you like you were the most amazing thing on earth. And he’s not wrong.” Steve cups Tony’s face and looks him in the eyes. “I’m in love with you, too.” 

Tony smiles and leans up, kissing him hungrily. Steve wraps his arms around Tony’s waist, pulling him closer until Tony flinches. “Shit,” Tony mutters, reaching up to touch his face. 

“Oh God. I’m so sorry, Tony. I forgot...” 

“It’s okay, Steve. It’s not your fault. Well, you’re not the one who threw Iron Man across the room.”

“I am the reason Bucky did it though.” Steve sighs and presses a barely there kiss to Tony’s bruises. “I’m so sorry. Bucky is out. Whatever drugs Clint had knocked him out good. He’s locked in his room.” 

“Okay. I still want to help him get himself back. Without the fun surprises of the Soldier showing up randomly.” Tony grins a little. “Coulson, sorry about that,” Tony says, turning to face Phil. “Are we talking your Shield, or Fury’s?” 

“Mine. Skye... I mean, Daisy can be here with May and FitzSimmons in a matter of seconds. Her abilities can keep the good Sergeant controlled for the time it takes to get him to our base.” 

Steve looks at Tony. “I’ll trust your judgement on this one.” 

“Okay. Let’s do it. But Steve and I might want to go with.”

“We can arrange that,” Phil says. “I’ll contact Daisy and May. We should be able to leave soon.”

“Thanks, Phil,” Steve says, licking his lips. He looks at Tony as Phil heads out of the room. “I feel bad. We should have told Bucky about this before we decided.” 

“Well, let’s go down and tell him now.” 

“Are you okay with being around him?” 

“Yeah. Besides, he’s locked in that room. Hulk can’t get out of that room, so I’m fairly sure that Bucky doesn’t stand a chance.”

Steve nods. “I guess you’re right,” he says. Tony takes his hand and they head downstairs together. 

Tony walks up to the window in the wall and spots Bucky pacing. He clicks on the intercom and gestures to Steve. Steve leans forward. “Hey Buck. How are you doing?” 

“Oh God. Stevie, tell me Tony’s okay? I hurt him. I think... I don’t know what happened, but I know I hurt him.”

“He’s... He is hurt, I won’t lie. But he’s okay.”

“Did I hurt anyone else? Oh God, Stevie, this is why I didn’t want to be here.” 

“Bucky, I’m okay. No one else is hurt,” Tony says, voice soft. “But, Shield does want to take you into custody. It’s Phil Coulson and his team. They’ll take care of you and we’ll be able to come visit. I’m afraid you don’t really have a choice here.” 

“I’ll do whatever. I’m sorry, Tony. I’m sorry I hurt you.”

“I’m okay and I don’t blame you. You just had a freak out moment. It happens. We’re going to go with you if Coulson’s team lets us. We’ll make sure you get settled in, okay?” 

Bucky nods and sinks onto one of the chairs in the room. “Are you really okay, Tony? It would kill me to know I hurt Steve’s boyfriend.” 

“How’d you know, Buck?” Steve asks, licking his lips as he looks over at Tony. 

Bucky smiles. “I know you, Stevie. I know that you wouldn’t have let him help you look for me unless you wanted to spend time with him. Am I wrong?” 

“No,” Steve mutters, ducking his head when Tony looks at him curiously. “I’ve had feelings for him for a long time, but it’s only recently that I really realized what it was.” 

“And I’ll admit now, before Rhodey or Pepper tells you, that I had a crush on Captain America as a kid, but my feelings now are so much more. And I also discovered that I like Steve Rogers a hell of a lot more than Captain America. Captain America is a tight ass, Steve Rogers is a snarky prick with a great ass.” Tony grins at Steve. 

Steve snorts, blushing. “Yeah, well... As Captain America, there’s a certain standard to uphold, or so I’m told. But don’t forget, just like there’s no difference between Iron Man and Tony Stark, there’s not really a lot of difference between Captain America and Steve Rogers. I’m both, not just one or the other.”

Tony nods and moves closer to Steve. “Here’s the thing though, it’s Steve Rogers behind the uniform. And that’s the person I want to be with. I don’t give a flying fuck about Captain America and whether or not he cares about me. Steve Rogers on the other hand... Yeah. That’s the one who’s opinion matters to me.” 

Steve wraps an arm around Tony’s waist. “Well, you don’t have to worry about either, because I have feelings for you and I care about you and since I’m both men...” He shrugs and leans down, brushing his lips over Tony’s.

“For God’s sake, do I have to listen to you two making out now?” 

“Shut it, jerk,” Steve says before he kisses Tony again.

Tony giggles into the kiss, pulling back and shaking his head. “You two are like children. I cannot believe I’m dating a 90-something year old child.” 

Steve grins and kisses Tony once more. “Well, believe it, baby, because it’s true.”

“Did you just...” He turns to the window, asking Bucky, “Did he just call me baby?” 

“Yeah. Meet the real Steve Rogers. He’s an asshole. Wait. You already said you knew he was a snarky prick...” 

“Yeah. But calling me baby? Wow. Just, wow.” Tony laughs. “Okay. I’m going to go see if Coulson and his team have arrived yet. You two... I don’t know. You two talk.”

Steve and Bucky laugh as Tony exits the room. “Are you really okay with this, Bucky?” Steve says, sobering after they’d laughed together for a few minutes. 

“After what I did to your boyfriend? Yeah. I’m okay with this. Maybe they can knock some sense into me.”

“Bucky, don’t talk that way.” 

“I’m not wrong,” Bucky says, rubbing a hand over his head. “I’m a danger, to you, to Tony, to everyone. I don’t want to hurt another person. If that means I get locked up, then so be it. At least until we can figure out how to get me better.” 

“Bucky...” 

“Steve, you can’t even argue with me. I could’ve killed Tony. Can you really sit here and tell me that you wouldn’t have killed me if I’d killed him?” 

“You would’ve stopped...” Steve trails off, admitting, if only to himself, that he’s not sure about that. 

“No. I wouldn’t have. If it hadn’t been for Thor, I would not have stopped. I was already going after him again. Natasha and Clint? They couldn’t have stopped me. Thor was the only one strong enough.”

Steve falls silent, leaning against the wall. He thinks of several things to say, but none of them seem right, so he stays quiet. 

“You still there, Stevie?” 

“I... Yeah.” 

“This isn’t your fault, Steve. You couldn’t have saved me from that fall. You couldn’t have stopped what happened before that. Zola already had me started on his version of the serum. What happened was meant to happen. After all, you wouldn’t have Tony if you’d saved me.” Bucky shrugs. “I’ll be okay, Steve. I will.”

Steve nods. “I’ll come see you as much as I can. And if you need anything, even if it’s to be broken out, you let me know. I can’t... I can’t lose you.” 

“You’ll never lose me again, Stevie.” Bucky smiles as he looks at the two way mirror. “You’re stuck with me.” 

“Good,” Steve says. He looks up as the door opens up and Coulson steps in, flanked by two beautiful, but deadly looking women. “Do you always pick the beautiful but scary ones, or is that just a requirement of Shield?” 

Coulson chuckles. “Somehow, I just end up with them. Captain, this is Melinda May and this is Daisy Johnson. Behind us are Leo Fitz and Jenna Simmons.”

Steve smiles and shakes hands with all of them. “It’s a pleasure to meet all of you. Welcome to Avengers Tower.”

Melinda looks past Steve, glaring into the room beyond. “That’s the Winter Soldier?” 

“Bucky Barnes. He’s not the Winter Soldier anymore.” Steve winces at the lie that slipped out. 

“I was the Winter Soldier. Still am sometimes, Agent May,” Bucky says.

“How’d you know?” 

“I’ve studied all of Shield’s agents. When I was the Soldier. It was my job to know my enemies.” 

“Well, just remember that I have, and will again, kill bigger men then you.” 

Bucky snorts. “Yes ma’am.” 

“And I can rip you apart without laying a finger on you,” Daisy adds. 

“Yes ma’am,” Bucky repeats. “I’m not interested in hurting any of you. I just... I just want to be better.” 

Fitz and Simmons step around Daisy, Coulson, and May and peer into the room. “Is that a bionic arm? Does it work off of your brain or just synapses in the nerves of your shoulder?” 

“Uh. I don’t know.” Bucky shrugs. 

“Can I test his blood? Compare it to samples from Captain Rogers?” Jemma asks, turning to look at Coulson.

Steve frowns. “All samples from me were to be destroyed. Fury swore to me they’d all be destroyed.” 

Simmons frowns. “I was hoping to get some samples. We don’t have any. Do we?” 

Coulson shakes his head. “No samples from Captain Rogers or Sergeant Barnes. Fitz, you can play with his arm if you can take it from him. _Not_ if Daisy or May can. If you can.” 

“Aw, that’s not fair. His regular bicep is nearly bigger than my head.” 

Bucky chuckles. “Maybe if you ask me nicely.” 

Fitz perks up at that and turns to Simmons. “We can figure out how to make it better.” 

“Pretty sure I’m already doing that,” Tony says as he steps into the room. “Agent. Agent May, Agent Johnson. Agents FitzSimmons. Agent, I am stealing your two lab geeks. I want their input on Bucky’s new arm.” Tony gestures and the two scientists all but run after him. 

Steve smiles at that and turns to face Coulson, Daisy and May. “You’ll take care of him?” 

“Of course, Captain,” Coulson says. 

Daisy grins. “I can’t believe I get to meet Captain America! Seriously, coolest job ever!” 

May rolls her eyes and looks in at Bucky. “Do you deserve it, Soldier? Do you deserve his love?” 

“No. But I want to earn it,” Bucky says, looking right at where May is standing, even though there’s no way he can see her. “Stevie was my best friend. Is my best friend. He’s the main reason I want to be the man I was. He deserves to have the friend he thought he’d lost back.” 

May tilts her head and nods. “Will you come willingly and allow us to do whatever we need to do to you to keep you under control?”

“Yes. Absolutely yes.” Bucky stands up. “They had vibranium hand cuffs that would hold me.” 

“No need for that.” May looks at Daisy and nods to her. Daisy walks over to the door and steps inside. Bucky eyes her, head cocked to the side. 

Daisy puts her hand up, pushing Bucky back against the wall. Even as he struggles, it becomes apparent that until she lets him up, he’s not going anywhere. Steve licks his lips and looks at Coulson and May. “Does it hurt him when she does that?” 

“No. If he fights too hard, she might break a bone or two, but under normal circumstances, she knows how much power to put into someone.” 

Steve nods, turning back to watch Daisy control Bucky easily. “I just don’t want him hurt.” 

Coulson steps forward and puts a hand on Steve’s shoulder. “We’ll take care of him, Steve. And we have enough Inhumans in Shield to keep him from harm and to keep him from harming us.”

Steve nods again. “Bucky...”

“I’m okay, Steve. I’ll be okay. Now, go find Tony and go on a date, for God’s sake. Don’t wait for him. You take the initiative.” Bucky smiles at him. “Go. Get out of here. Daisy, May, and Coulson will take care of me.” 

Steve licks his lips. “Okay, Bucky. I’ll miss you and I’ll see you soon, I hope.” 

“I’ll see you soon, Stevie.” Bucky waves and turns to Daisy. “You don’t have to use your powers, little lady. I’ll go willingly.” 

Daisy shrugs. “Just know that I can and will put you down.” 

“I got it, little lady.” Bucky winks at her and looks at May. “If you want to put cuffs on me to feel safer, I’m okay with that.”

May cocks an eyebrow. “If I put cuffs on you, it won’t be because I want to feel safer.” 

Bucky grins. “Kinky. I like it.” 

Daisy snorts and shakes her head. “You must have a death wish,” she says, rolling her eyes. 

“I like dangerous women,” Bucky says, smiling at May. “Feel free to cuff me anytime.” 

May rolls her eyes and turns to Coulson. “I’ll go start the jet. You deal with the Soldier.” 

Steve smiles at Coulson. “He’s always been that way. Sorry.”

Coulson shrugs. “May needs someone to keep her on her toes. She can handle him.” 

“Should I be worried about him then?” 

“Maybe.” Coulson smiles and pats Steve’s shoulder. “I’ll see you, Captain. I’ll text you and Tony the address where you can come visit.” 

“Thanks, Phil.” Steve watches as Bucky walks off with Daisy and Coulson and notices Fitz & Simmons joining them. He smiles when he feels Tony’s arms slide around his waist. “Hi.” 

“Did you two get to say goodbye?” 

“Sort of. More like, see you later.” Steve turns and faces Tony. “Thank you.” 

“You’re welcome, Steve.” Tony leans up and kisses Steve softly. “Come on. Let’s go get some food. I’ll order us some Chinese.” 

“How about we go out and get some food?” 

“Like...” 

“A date. I’m asking you on a date.” Steve bites his lip. “Please say yes?” 

“Yes. Of course it’s yes.” Tony smiles at him. “Where would you like to go?” 

“Italian?” 

“Perfect.” Tony smiles at him. “I’ll call my favourite place and we’ll head out in about half an hour, okay?” 

“Do I need to wear anything special?” 

“Slacks and a nice shirt will be fine. It’s a nice place, but not super fancy.” 

Steve nods. “Okay. I’ll meet you in the garage in half an hour?” 

“Yeah.” Tony gives him a quick kiss and heads for the elevators. Steve heads for the stairs, smiling to himself. He’s got a date with Tony and Bucky is safe. His life feels pretty good right now.


End file.
